Device for use in shining shoes



Oct. 23, 1923.

A. L. AsTE DEVICE FOR USE IN SHINING SHOES Filed April 22. 1922 Patented Get. 23, 1923.

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ANTHONY L. ASTE, OF BROOKLYN, Nie YORK.

DEVICE FOR USE IN SHINING SHOES.

Application fiIed. April 22,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTHONY L. As'rn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Devices for Use in Shining Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for use in shining and polishing shoes, and an object of the invention is to produce such a device which will be composed of few parts and by the use of which shoes may be shined and polished with great facility either on stands or platforms as in shoe shining establishments or by the wearer himself in the home.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of a device comprising a single metal casting and a wire mounted on the casting and adapted to have the ends of a cloth or rag used in polishing shoes threaded outwardly around it.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the casting is formed to provide a head adapted to serve as a shoe rest, and the cloth holding wire is extended forwardly of the casting for a considerable distance beyond the toe rest portion of the head and in laterally spaced relation from the sides of the head. Other features of the invention pertain to the formation of the head of the casting, to the relation between the head of the casting and the cloth holding wire, and to the manner of mounting the cloth holding wire on the casting.

Still other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description proceeds and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, in which like parts are designated by similar reference characters:

Fig. 1 is a View in side elevation of a de vice constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of one end of the supporting means for the cloth hold ing wire;

Fig. i is a detail view of the cloth holding wire; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the parts shown in Fig, 3.

The illustrated construction comprises a metal casting comprising a head 12 having a heel rest portion 14 and a toe rest portion 1922. Serial No. 558,039.

at its front end 16. The casting also in cludes rear legs 18 and a front leg 20, the rear legs 18 depending from opposite sides of the head. 12 forwardly of the heel rest the front leg 20 being arranged in the central vertical plane of the head 12 and extending forwardly as well as downwardly from the head. The legs 18 and 20 are formed at their lower ends with laterally extending lugs 22 provided with openings through which may be inserted screws or other suitable fastening devices for securing the casting in place on a floor structure.

The rear legs 18 of the casting are provided in their outer sides with apertures adapted to receive laterally inturned free ends 24: of a U-shaped wire cloth holder 30.

In order to enable the toe portion of a shoe, which is, of course, its most conspicuous part, to be polished readily and efiiciently over its entire surface, the toe of the shoe while on the head 12should preferably extend for some distance beyond the forward end of the toe rest portion 16 of the head, as indicated in Fig. 1. It is an important purpose of this invention to pro vide a device for use in shining shoes by the employment of which shoes of widely varying sizes may be shined in a pre-eminently satisfactory manner. To this end the legs 26 of the wire cloth holder 30 are extended for a considerable distance forwardly of the toe rest portion 16 of the head 12 in spaced relation to the vertical planes passing through the points 31 of greatest lateral projection of the head 12 of the casting. In the use of the device a shoe of relatively large size will extend in advance of the toe rest portion of the head of the casting to a greater degree than a smaller shoe, but inasmuch as the legs of the wire 28 extend for a considerable distance forwardly of the head 12 of the casting, a cloth or rag having its ends turned outwardly beneath the legs 26 of the wire, as shown in broken lines Fig. 1, can, nevertheless, be applied to the toe of a shoe, no matter how large it may be, in such a relation as to enable the shoe to be polished in the most effective manner. In other words, the wire 28 extends for such a distance forwardly of the head 12 of the casting that the toe of a shoe of any ordinary size can be rubbed by the cloth by force exerted substantially at right angles to the legs 26 of the wire.

The front leg 20 is provided with a forward extension 34 having arms 36 extending laterally therefrom at right angles thereto. The arms 36 are preferably rectangular in transverse section with their long dimensions disposed vertically, as seen in Fig. 5, and are formed in their outer ends with slots 38 to receive the legs 26 of the wire 28 at points adjacent to the bar 80. VJith this construction, it is apparent that the wire 28 will be maintained normally in raised position on the casting, but that when the legs 26 of the wire are drawn apart to detach their iii-turned ends A from the rear legs 18 of the casting, the legs 26 will be disngaged from the notches 38, so that the wire "6 will drop away from the casting. The described construction manifestly enables the cloth holding wire 28 to be very quickly and easily installed on the casting 10 and removed therefrom when desired.

The cloth holding wire 28 is preferably mounted on the casting 10 in substantially horizontal position, as shown in 1. The toe rest portion 16 of the head 12 of the casting is, however, inclined upwardly from the heel rest portion 1a and is also curved, as shown in the drawing. The toe rest portion 16 of the head, therefore, diverges from the wire 28 in a forward direction, the relation of the toe rest portion of the head to the wire 28 being such that a cloth placed on a shoe and having its ends turned. outwardly around the legs 26 of the wire, as described, will beenabled to take a firm hold on the shoe, so as to have little or no tendency to slide towards and 0E its toe portion, and will act on the shoe to polish it in the same manner and with a like action to that exerted by an expert polisher using a free cloth.

The length of the arms 36 is such as to cause the legs 26 of the wire to be spaced laterally by the proper distance from the side edges of the toe rest portion 16 of the head 12. This spacing may, of course, be widely varied without departing from the principles of the invention but is preferably quite large so as to enable the cloth 32 to be moved freely upon the legs 26 and the shoe being shined.

While a shoe is being shined either by the wearer or another person, the pressure of the wearers foot exerted forwardly as well as downwardly and chiefly at the heel and ball of the foot, the main components of the forces arising from such pressure being exerted in the general direction of the broken lines A-B in Fig. 1. in accordance with the present'invention, the rear legs 18 are not disposed beneath the heel rest por tion 1% of the head 12 but are located cent to the rear end of the toe rest portion 16 so as to bring their bases into line with the force exerted on the rear part of the head, and the front leg 20 is not only so arranged as to bring its base into line with the force exerted on the toe rest portion 16 by the ball of the foot, but is also extended from its upper end to its base substantially in the direction in which the pressure on the toe rest portion 16 is exerted, thereby afiording a maximum of strength with a minimum material.

Preferably, and as shown, the front end of the toe rest portion 16 of the head 12 is cut off square, as indicated at d0 (Fig. 2), and the side edges of the front leg 20 diverge towards the upper end of the leg 20, thereby presenting afront surface e2 widening gradually to its upper end where it merges in the front edge 40 of the head 12.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the improved shoe shining device of this invention is adapted to be employed on the stands of shoe shining establishments or in homes for facilitating the shining of shoes by the wearer himself. It is particularly well suited for domestic use as a self-shining device not only because it is so constructed as to enable the wearer to shine his shoes, including their toes, thoroughly, easily and quickly, but also because it presents an ornamental appearance when screwed upon a suitable support.

Having fully described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a shoe shining device, a support having a head constructed to serve as a shoe rest and being provided with openings in its opposite sides below the heel rest portion of said head and a substantially U- shaped cloth holding wire having the ends of its legs turned inwardly and engaged in said openings and having its bar extending transversely across the front end of the support, said support being formed with a front leg disposed substantially in the central, longitudinal, vertical plane of the head and having arms extending laterally from the front leg and slotted at their outer ends to receive and support said wire.

2. In a device for use in shining shoes, a casting comprising rear legs and a front leg, a head constructed to serve as a shoe rest, and a longitudinal extension on the front leg projecting forwardly of the casting beyond said head and provided with laterally extending slotted arms, a wire cloth holding member pivotally connected to the rear legs and having a transversely disposed part arranged for engagement with the front faces of said arms and leg portions adapted to be received in said slots at points adjacent to said transverse part.

8. A shoe shining device comprising a head formed to present. a heel rest portion and a toe rest portion, rear legs extending downwardly from the rear end of the toe rest portion adjacent to and forwardly of the heel rest portion and having their bases arranged substantially in line with the force exerted by the wearers foot on the heel rest portion, and a front leg disposed substantially on the central, longitudinal, vertical plane of the head and extending forwardly and downwardly from the toe rest portion of the head substantially in line with the direction in which force isexerted by the wearers foot on the toe rest portion.

4;. A shoe shining device comprising a foot plate provided with a heel rest, a sole rest, rear legs depending from the shank portion of said foot plate forward of the heel rest and provided with holes, a front leg inclined downward and forward from the toe portion of said foot plate and provided with supporting means extending laterally from opposite sides of said front leg and in advance thereof, said legs being provided with attaching lugs, a wire cloth holder comprising a front cross bar engaging said supporting means and rearwardly extending parallel side bars having inturned rear ends engaging holes in said rear legs, said side bars being disposed substantially below said sole plate and widelyspaced from the vertical side planes thereof.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name hereunder.

ANTHONY L. ASTE. 

